The time is ripe to extend the confrontation with the Chinese to the maritime domain, says former RA&W officer Krishan Varma.
Pakistan and China on Wednesday inked several agreements and memoranda of understanding, including a pact on a system to manage the border between the Xinjiang autonomous region and Gilgit-Baltistan area. President Asif Ali Zardari and visiting Chinese Premier Li Keqiang witnessed the signing of the agreements by representatives of the two countries during a ceremony at the presidency.
In an apparent snub to India, a Russian ground forces contingent on Friday arrived in Pakistan to participate in the first-ever joint military exercises starting from Saturday.
A day after Finance Minister Arun Jaitley criticised Nehruvian model of development, saying it had held the country back, Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Sunday termed Jammu and Kashmir a glaring example of the "failure" of Nehru's political model.
China's closer and enhanced relationship with Pakistan is putting considerable strain in India-China relations, says former RA&W officer Jayadeva Ranade.
Asserting that there is a large presence of Chinese troops and workers in Pakistan occupied Kashmir, Northern Command Chief Lt Gen T K Parnaik on Tuesday said that China would not like to "interfere" in border conflict between India and Pakistan.
Pakistan's religious and ethnic minorities are under attack; the number of mass murders have escalated and how! At this time it is already a human tragedy that is unconscionable for Indians to ignore, emphasises Nitin Pai
A Mi-17 helicopter of Pakistan army on Wednesday crashed in the northern Gilgit-Baltistan region, killing five persons and injuring three others, a spokesman said.
It needs to be underlined that Pakistan army chief Gen Kayani's pleasant remarks should not be interpreted as indicating a change in the hostile mindset of the Pakistan army towards India, argues B Raman.
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party has won 23 seats while the Pakistan Peoples Party was second with eight seats and the incumbent Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz secured just six seats, the state-run Radio Pakistan reported.
On Thursday, maximum new cases were recorded in Balochistan where the number of infected people rose to 76 from 23. Punjab was the next where the number rose from 33 to 78, Dawn reported.
The Sindh province is the worst-hit with 172 cases, followed by 15 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 10 in Balochistan, 8 in Punjab, 5 in Gilgit-Baltistan and 2 in Islamabad, officials said.
China having no reservation over the inclusion of heads of governments of POK and Gilgit-Baltistan in Zardari's delegation underlines once again that the Chinese no longer considers POK and GB as disputed territory, says B Raman.
'The logical step is to challenge the very legitimacy of the Chinese claim over Tibet,' recommends Inspector General Gurdip Singh Uban (retd).
We invited Varun Gupta to hold a live exhibition of his Leh-Ladakh pictures on Rediff ZaraBol. Here are some breathtaking pictures he shot and shared with us.
The handling of the October 23 incident involving an Indian Army helicopter straying into Pakistan air space should be used as a starting point for setting up a more substantial military-military relationship between the armies of the two countries as a distrust-reducing measure, writes B Raman
This is for the first time the UNHRC has issued a report on the alleged human rights violations in Kashmir and PoK.
A Pakistani military helicopter carrying 11 foreigners crashed in the Pakistan occupied Kashmir on Friday, killing ambassadors of the Philippines and Norway and at least five others as the Taliban claimed responsibility for the downing of the chopper and said Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was the target.
With China hardening its stance on the Kashmir issue, India now should be rethinking on appropriate policy options on Tibet, Taiwan or even on Xinjiang, says China expert Srikanth Kondapalli.
Voicing great concern over China's remarks about "India-controlled Kashmir", External Affairs Minister S M Krishna asked Beijing to respect India's sensitivities on Jammu and Kashmir which is an inalienable part of the country.
During a hearing on a suo motu case on the coronavirus crisis in Pakistan, a five-member bench of the apex court observed that PM Khan's Cabinet has become ineffective in the fight against the pandemic. The bench questioned the integrity of Dr Mirza in tackling the COVID-19 crisis and the transparency of his work done.
Lieutenant General Faiz Hamid will take to his new command as duck to water, notes Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at the Research and Analysis Wing, India's external intelligence agency.
China, which plans to have a rail link with Pakistan through the strategic Karakoram ranges, has signed another agreement with the country for building two highways in the disputed Gilgit-Baltistan region in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir close to the Chinese border.
Rejecting as 'fabricated' reports of presence of up to 11,000 Chinese troops in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir's Gilgit-Baltistan area, Pakistan's envoy in Beijing has claimed that only a 'humanitarian team' from China was in the region to assist the flood victims.
India is making 'independent verification' of reports about the presence of Chinese troops in Gilgit-Baltistan region in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, saying it would be a matter of 'serious concern' if it turns out to be true. "We have seen media reports and are seeking an independent verification of these reports. If true, it would be a matter of serious concern and we would do all that is necessary to ensure the safety and security of the nation," said MEA spokesperson.
Five people died in Khyber-Pakhtuknkhwa province, while one died in Diamer area of Gilgit-Baltistan region, officials said, adding 28 people were injured in Peshawar.
The Pakistanis, since the days of General Pervez Musharraf, have repeatedly sought Chinese assistance for the construction of a petrochemical complex at Gwadar and oil and gas pipelines and a railway line connecting Gwadar with the Xinjiang province.
'Under National Security Advisor Ajit Kumar Doval and now Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, India began to actively work on Pakistani internal faultlines with a possibility of the break-up of Pakistan as the only solution,' observes Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
'India should be able to weather the storm, given its enhanced standing among the major powers. However, India's international clout is partly from its rapidly growing emerging economy and a large and expanding commercial market. 'If the Indian economy continues to slow and protectionist barriers advance, then our international clout will also diminish. The international fallout from bringing the Valley to heel may be more difficult to handle,' says Shyam Saran.
"They should remember that there is no article 370 in Pakistan. Here in India they atleast enjoy democracy but they would not have the same freedom there," Prasad warned. He cautioned those journalists who were writing in favour of Kashmiris being allowed to seceed from India must answer if they would support similar response from other states demanding freedom like the ULFA in Assam," the BJP spokesperson said.
Kartarpur corridor is a 'corridor of love' and there is no sinister design in it, he said on allegations that the corridor could be used to promote separatism in Punjab.
An air ambulance carrying the Indonesian ambassador, who was injured when a Pakistani military helicopter crashed last week, made an emergency landing in India after the envoy's condition worsened mid-flight, a media report said.
'The one aspect which no Indian military thinker would wish to see emerge is a LoC type of posture at the LAC.' 'The LoC is manned for 750 km and terrorist infiltration has led to the creation of a virtual fortress along its entire length.' 'Something mirroring this at the LAC is going to be expensive although deployment everywhere is not warranted there.' 'However, given the complete trust deficit, there appear few alternatives,' notes Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain (retd).
The project holds strategic significance as Zojila Pass is situated at an altitude of 11,578 feet on the Srinagar-Kargil-Leh National Highway and remains closed during winters due to heavy snowfall.
'Given the present force levels, India cannot fight and win.' 'India can't hope to terminate the conflict on India's terms and impose the nation's will upon the adversaries,' says Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).
Qureshi urged for unity among political parties in Pakistan on Kashmir and warned that doing politics on the issue would harm the cause.
His statement was regarded significant as a Pakistani or PoK politician seldom refers to the area ceded to China in 1965 as part of the boundary agreement between two countries.
"Disappointed to see the Pakistan PM use the UN to praise a militant group that uses violence to promote its cause," Congressman Ted Poe said in a tweet.
